Alexander von Winiwarter (April 22, 1848 – October 31, 1917) was an Austrian-Belgian

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

who was a native of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He was the brother of physician Felix von Winiwarter (1852-1931). Alexander Winiwarter obtained his medical doctorate in 1870 at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, and worked as a surgical assistant at the Vienna University Clinic under

Theodor Billroth Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (26 April 18296 February 1894) was a German surgeon and amateur musician. As a surgeon, he is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and conf ...

, a pioneer in the field of modern surgical practices. Later, he became head of the surgical department at the ''Kronprinz-Rudolf-Kinderspitals'' (Crown Prince Rudolf Children's Hospital), and in 1878 relocated to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, where he became a professor of surgery at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. Subsequently, he acquired Belgian citizenship. In the latter part of the 19th century, Winiwarter introduced specialized

massage Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

and compression procedures to treat

lymphedema Lymphedema, also known as lymphoedema and lymphatic edema, is a condition of localized swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system. The lymphatic system functions as a critical portion of the body's immune system and returns interstitial fl ...

, a disease that causes swollen arms and legs due to fluid retention in the

lymphatic system The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic or lymphoid o ...

. Dissertation on Liposuction Combined with Controlled Therapy by Hekan Brorsen and Henry Svensson, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery In 1932, Danish

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

Emil Vodder Danish Dr. Emil Vodder (20 February 1896 - 17 February 1986) and his wife Dr. Estrid Vodder proposed the alternative medicine practice of " lymphology". While working on the French Riviera treating patients with chronic colds, they noticed these ...

refined and improved Winiwarter's technique to treat lymphedema. Vodder's treatment was to become known as

manual lymphatic drainage Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) is a type of massage based on the hypothesis that it will encourage the natural drainage of the lymph, which carries waste products away from the tissues back toward the heart. The lymph system depends on intrinsic c ...

Selected writings

* ''Untersuchungen über die Gehörschnecke der Säugethiere'' (Studies on the

cochlea The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, the sensory org ...

in mammals), 1870. * ''Zur pathologischen Anatomie der Leber'' (On the

pathological anatomy Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...

of the

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

), 1872. * ''Das maligne Lymphom und das Lymphosarkom'' (Malignant

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

and

lymphosarcoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

) in Langenbeck's Archive, 1874. * ''Beiträge zur Statistik der Carcinome'' (Contributions involving statistics of

carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal ...

), 1878. * ''Zur Chirurgie der Gallenwege'' (On the surgery of

bile duct A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile, and is present in most vertebrates. Bile is required for the digestion of food and is secreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct. It ...

s), Commemorative publication in honor of Billroth, 1892. * ''Die chirurgischen Krankheiten der Haut und des Unterhautzellgewebes'' (Surgical diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue), 1893. * ''Die Lehre von den chirurgischen Operationen und den chirurgischen Verbänden'', 1895

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article from the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

.'' Winiwarter, Alexander von Winiwarter, Alexander von Winiwarter, Alexander von Physicians from Vienna Belgian surgeons {{Austria-med-bio-stub